Behavioural and Social Sciences

Research Master & Research Groups

The degree programme prepares students for a PhD position,
aiming to impart knowledge, skills and understanding in the field
of social and behavioural sciences in such a way that the student
is capable of performing scientific research in this area.

The programme builds upon a long-standing collaboration within
the faculty between a number of research groups in sociology,
psychology, and educational sciences with a shared interest in the
social behaviour of individuals in institutional and cultural
contexts.

They all focus on methodologically and theoretically advanced
research on applied problems. Typical research topics include, for
example, motivation, solidarity behaviour, or commitment. Within
the programme, each student chooses a multidisciplinary domain that
is a collaboration between different research groups:

I decided to apply to the University of Groningen after an
intensive period of searching. I specifically looked for programmes
in English, and in that context the Netherlands became an excellent
option. Why Groningen? Because here I found an interesting degree
programme that I could tailor to my interests.

In my programme I found a first class academic staff with
challenging projects and ideas. In addition, I've experienced that
students get many opportunities to participate in research
projects, through instances such as your traineeship or a job as
research assistant. The interaction with the staff is very direct
and you will become easily acquainted with the academic practice.
Moreover, I encountered a group of active and motivated students
during my programme, who are also very interested to know about
your culture.

The university has a good library with access to vast databases
with the latest publications, which allows you to do your research
and remain up-to-date with the developments in your area of
knowledge. As a foreign student I've experienced how easy it is to
communicate in English with everybody at the university. You can
also do your shopping or order a coffee, and people will understand
you without a problem. However, for long stays such as the Research
Master's programme, I would definitely recommend to learn some
Dutch because it will bring you to another level of integration to
the Dutch culture.

Living in Groningen deserves a separate chapter. I come from a
city with millions of inhabitants, which can be overwhelming at
times. In Groningen you will find almost everything you need in a
much smaller space. You can easily cover it by walking, however the
best way to move around is by bike (in spite of the wind, the rain,
and the crazy Dutch bikers!). I love being able to enjoy the vivid
centre of the city and, just minutes later, find myself biking in
the peaceful natural area of the northern part of the Netherlands.
In sum, here I've been able to acquire a solid academic base for my
future as a researcher, and additionally an enriching, lifetime
personal experience.”

Applying for the Behavioral and Social Sciences research master
was partly based on convenience as I also did my Psychology
Bachelor in Groningen. However, this does not mean I did not look
at alternatives. In the end I decided to apply for the research
master in Groningen because it's program looked as one of the more
fun and challenging available.

Choosing what track to follow was a bit more difficult as both
the social psychology track and clinical psychology track looked
really interesting. I was told I could try to combine the two
tracks, through the selection of courses and subjects, as long as I
focused on one of the two. In the end I chose for the clinical
psychology track with influences from the social psychology track
as I thought this focus would be more interesting than the other
way round.

I have been very happy with my decision to follow the clinical
psychology track because it definitely delivered as promised. As
the program is highly selective, there is a lot of contact between
staff members and students. For me these meetings were extremely
inspiring because the staff members really take their time for each
individual student. The program itself was as challenging as I had
hoped, resulting in a great preparation for my current PhD program.
An important aspect of the program is that it gives students the
opportunity to get out of the program what they want out of it. For
me this resulted in going abroad for a few months to do a
traineeship with a researcher in the United States, which I thought
was an amazing experience. All in all, I have learned a lot during
the research master and would recommend it to anyone who has the
ambition to follow a career in research.

Groningen itself is also a great city to study in. First of all,
the city is strongly oriented around students which is no wonder as
approximately 1 out of 4 inhabitants is a student. In addition, the
city is relatively small making everything easy to reach. Groningen
has reliable public transportation but I found taking a bike is
usually more convenient. Because the city strongly revolves around
students it has great study areas, libraries, sporting facilities
and student associations.

I've always been interested in the processes underlying human
behaviour and especially in psychopathology in children. Because of
my dream to become a clinical psychologist, using knowledge of
psychology to help children with mental disorders, I started the
psychology bachelor. Then I discovered I also really like many
aspects of doing research (generating questions, thinking of
research designs, being creative and get new knowledge). I started
looking for a master in which I could combine clinical research and
practice and found the research master to provide this
possibility!

During the first year of the research master, I increased my
knowledge in psychopathology, therapy, methodology and statistics.
I got the opportunity to work on systemic reviews and to conduct a
meta-analysis, to engage in research design, data collection, data
analysis, and writing in the field of clinical psychology. These
experiences confirmed my earlier motivation.

In my second year I really wanted to gain practical skills in
the in the field of clinical psychology. Therefore together with my
supervisor an integrated master thesis and clinical internship was
arranged in a centre for child and youth psychiatry. During a
period of 8 months, I spend 2 days on participating in diagnostics
and treatment of children with anxiety and mood disorders and
autism spectrum disorders. The other three days I participate in
research projects performed at the clinical centre and write my
master thesis.

In this way the research master gave me the possibility to learn
and increase my knowledge of conducting research in the field of
clinical psychology and to gain practical clinical skills. I hope
to continue this scientist-practitioner combination in the
future.

Are you considering applying for the Behavioural and Social
Sciences Research Master this year? Have you heard that it is a
demanding program and are you wondering if it is something for you?
Minita had the same thoughts last year. She is now a first-year
student in the program and shares some of her experiences.

“Awesome!”, is what I nearly shouted into the
speaker of my phone when I heard the good news last year: I got
accepted for the clinical psychology specialisation of the
Behavioural and Social Sciences Research Master program in
Groningen. I was going to be a ReMa student, and I was so relieved.
I had to write a letter of motivation, was given two weeks to
compose my first research proposal, and finally I made it through
the final selection, the interview.

Thus, in September 2014, together with 23 fellow students, I
officially started my research career. In my specialisation, we are
only 4 people. What a difference; in my Bachelor of Psychology
program, which I also completed in Groningen, we had started with
350 people! Being in a small group was immediately one thing I
really liked and it had been one of the reasons for wanting to
become a ReMa student. Having most lectures in such small groups
makes a big difference. We students get to know each other on a
totally different level, and also the relationship we build with
our professors is incomparable to the atmosphere during the
Bachelor program. They suddenly know our names and give us the
opportunity to work with them on research projects one-on-one.

As the name suggests, the focus in the two-year ReMa program is
indeed on research. This inevitably means that statistics plays a
major role and in the first two semesters you are expected to spend
many hours on it. However, it seems I am finally learning
statistical methods that are actually applied in real research. In
two courses, we are even asked to bring and work on our own data
sets (instead of study a book and answer multiple-choice questions
in an exam). So yes, if you are considering applying for the ReMa
program, be prepared to tackle statistics again, and keep in mind
that this plays a major part in psychological research and thus
prepares you for what is yet to come.

The ReMa not only gives me the chance to do research here at the
University of Groningen, but also actively supports my plans of
spending time abroad. In the second year, ReMa students are
expected to do a traineeship, which I will do at McGill University
in Montréal, Canada. I am thrilled to be given this
opportunity and I am really looking forward to working with other
internationally renowned researchers. In my case, I will also stay
in Montréal for my Master thesis. In addition to it being an
exciting learning experience, hopefully it helps me increase my
chances in obtaining a position as a PhD student.

Speaking of which, from day one of the ReMa program, we are
constantly reminded of and encouraged to think about and plan for
the PhD position we are aiming for. No doubt, there is pressure to
start publishing and to come up with an innovative, compelling
research idea, so as to hand in a competitive application for
funding at the beginning of the second ReMa year. Proper planning
and a lot of time investment are needed, not only for the PhD
application but throughout the whole ReMa program. After all, we
were one of the few who got accepted into this program, hence good
performance and commitment are expected.

If you are considering applying for the program, it may help to
know that you are offered support and assistance in order to manage
to deliver what is expected from you. You will have a mentor within
your specialisation and there are special student advisors for the
ReMa program. Moreover, during the course Applied Statistics for
example, you will also be guided and supported by one of the
lecturers. You will be busy with “Uni” every day and
there will be times that you feel totally exhausted, but it will be
good to know that many people are willing to help.

So all in all, yes, the ReMa definitely is a demanding and
challenging program but the inspiring, stimulating, and personal
environment it offers is definitely worth it. If I had to choose
again, I would certainly do this ReMa again.

These were some of my experiences of my first year of the ReMa
and I hope sharing these will help you deciding whether this Master
program is something for you. If you have any further questions, I
am happy to help, so feel free to comment below or otherwise
contact me.

During my bachelor of psychology I really enjoyed doing
research, so when I started searching for a master program a
research master seemed a logical option. My choice fell on the
clinical track of the ReMa BSS because this program actually gives
you the chance to do a master specifically aimed to train students
for a future as a researcher, while still keeping the option open
to become a therapist.

In the free choice part of the master there is room to do the
courses that are necessary to be able to do the post master of
health psychologist (GZ-psycholoog). Furthermore, instead of a
research traineeship it is also possible to do a clinical
internship.

My experience with the research master was excellent. The master
has a personal approach, you receive continuous supervision by a
senior researcher of your own choice, you have many course options
which can be tailored to your own interests and your
fellow students and supervisors/staff are highly motivated.
Importantly, there is an option to apply for funding for your own
PhD project.

The first year of the research master consists of several
interesting mandatory courses, such as applied statistics during
which you learn programming in R software. Additionally, you are
required to complete literature studies in topics of your own
interests. During my first year we also got the opportunity for
additional research experience, by doing a paid research
assistantship with a senior researcher of our choice. This was a
great opportunity, and to give you an idea; for my project I
learned to work with an eye tracker and performed a study examining
the influence of individual differences in body shape concern on
viewing patterns of bodies of overweight and normal weight
individuals.

The second year of the research master is highly independent and
gives you the time to develop your own interests for your specific
area of interest. For me this consisted of a traineeship using eye
tracking, a master thesis which provided the basis for my current
PhD project, and a literature study in the same area. In addition,
I got a great opportunity to go to Gent University for a short
visit, through contacts of my supervisor. Here I got to present my
master thesis plan and meet several researchers that were working
on similar projects.

To conclude; if you are interested in doing research in clinical
psychology, perhaps in combination with clinical work, the research
master Behavioural and Social Sciences is a master you should
definitely consider.

My interest in environmental issues led me to pursue the
research master Behavioural and Social sciences, where I could
deepen my understanding of the topic and at the same time delve
into the world of research. During my master's I had a lot of
courses on research methods and statistics, as well as a variety of
courses in social psychology and environmental psychology.

Furthermore, I was encouraged to join ongoing projects from
faculty members, assist in research and attend lab meetings of the
research groups in the department. I did a traineeship,
literature studies and my master's thesis to specialise in
Environmental Psychology.

In July 2016 I started my PhD research in Environmental
Psychology about smart energy incentives. I feel really confident
in conducting my own research as I had a lot of practice and
preparation throughout my master’s, especially by writing my
master’s thesis in Environmental Psychology. My thesis was
about evaluating a water and energy conservation programme for
primary school children called “Water Savers” .
Coordinating this project and working with schools and
practitioners will be of great help to me for future larger
projects that I will design and coordinate.

I will see what the future holds. Maybe later on in life, I
would like to start my own research and consultancy company in the
field of sustainability. For now, I am really looking forward to
working on my PhD topic for the next four years.’

My academic training has all been in Groningen. I did my
Bachelor's in Psychology here, and am currently doing a Research
Master's in Behavioural and Social Sciences, specializing in Social
and Organizational Psychology.

I chose to do a Research Master's because I was intrigued by the
idea of critically investigating the claims made in the field of
Psychology. I would love to be able to make my own theoretical and
critical contribution to the field. Besides critical thinking, I'm
learning how to apply particular theoretical models to human
behaviour and how to work with statistical analysis.

The subject that interests me most is Social Psychology. How do
the people around us influence how we look at the world? In Western
culture, we have a strong notion that you have to be 'yourself',
but in Social Psychology it is assumed that the self changes
according to those around you. That fascinates me.

The lecturers at the Department of Psychology are excellent:
there's always something to learn from them. The University of
Groningen offers great opportunities to learn and challenge
yourself. For this programme, it is particularly important that you
are willing and motivated.

Before coming to Groningen I lived in Germany. I always wanted to
study abroad and would definitely recommend it to anyone
considering it. It really challenges you to adapt to a different
culture and get to know new people. Groningen has everything: it's
a beautiful city with loads of activities to do alongside your
studies. As it's not too big, you feel at home. And I have to admit
that the Dutch are really quite nice!